Goat: Directed by Andrew Neel and written by David Gordon Green, Andrew Neel and Mike RobertsGoat is a movie where we take the college hazing rituals, the kind that are gross, vile, humilating, embarassing and maybe a little funny, and we give them the Full Metal Jacket treatment. It is the story of two brothers, the older one already in the fraternity and the younger one who recently suffered a brutal assault. They enter into Hell Week and it is a descent into debaucherous behavior but from a more intense viewpoint. The film is quiet in places. It doesn't have the music lead you to where it wants you to go. It knows you will experience it without it. It offers no way out. This can be a difficult film to watch. Hazing has traditionally been the subject of comedy. It's funny to drink to excess, be paraded around campus in your underwear, stuck in a small cage after you've vomited all over yourself. This movie does wallow in those elements. It sets things up by establishing the close relationship the two brothers have before and after the assault. It drags you into what it must feel like watching someone you love go through this kind of humilation especially after suffering the kind of assault that he did. This was a powerful and very well made movie. It addressed what happens at these places and what it could possibly lead to. This movie is not something I would recommend to everyone. The tension does ratchet up a point that laughter is the only release possible. Be prepared for that when you enter into this film. I give this movie a B.

Goat is a look at the dark side of fraternity initiations and is a long way away from the comedy antics of Animal House.Brad (Ben Schnetzer) follows his popular brother Brett (Nick Jonas) to college. Right at the off he gets beaten up and mugged by some strangers at a party he gave a lift to.However much worse is to come as the new students need to survive hell week and various rites of passage that is associated when it comes to joining college fraternities even if hazing has been outlawed.These pledges are meant to be darkly comic but nauseating and the new students endure it for the prestige of joining a house and getting laid. Of course we know that tragedy will strike and brother Brett is already dubious about these frats and what they stand for and is worried about Brad.James Franco makes a comedic guest appearance as an older former college frat who drops in to tell the new recruits that being a member of the house means joining a brotherhood who always watch your back.Apart from the disturbing scenes of the various initiations and the fraternity members later falling apart when disaster strikes there is little story here. It is even not that interesting because it lacks the darkly comic humour that this film needed.

Trigger Warning(s):Physical and Mental Abuse | Vomiting | BloodReview (with Spoilers)There is a certain mystique to fraternities. On one hand, they are the source of parties, they make it seem like their network will do more than get you a good job but also attractive girls, and for that, you'd do anything right? Well, this movie goes into that but with the name James Franco attached, a red flag if you don't see the name Seth Rogen anywhere, you have to wonder if this is to be taken seriously or will the sensationalism Franco is known for when involved, will it kill its depth?Noted Actor(s)Brad (Ben Schnetzer) | Brett (Nick Jonas) | Will (Danny Flaherty) | Dixon (Jake Picking) | Leah (Virginia Garnder)StorylineIn one way it is about following in his brother's footsteps and in another it is about all a frat seemingly guarantees. That is the reason behind Brad wanting to join Brett's fraternity. After all, as Will points out, how else will the average dude find himself having sex with beautiful women, invited to the biggest parties, and not spend college as some sort of weird guy right?Problem is, not just anyone can get into a frat for on top of those benefits, there is also the prestige, the network frats have, and who wants just any single bugger becoming a brother. Enter Dixon, the pledge master, who is tasked with filtering out the goats trying to get into Phi Sigma Mu. Though his methods aren't universally agreed upon and become tragic.HighlightsMemorable CharactersTo my surprise, the cast in this film all play memorable roles. Not to the point you'd want to explore their filmographies, but like with the case of Flaherty who I automatically associate with Skins (US), I'd imagine if you see most of the actors in something after this film you'd remember them as that guy from GOAT.Strangely, Women Aren't Trashed That MuchGranted, outside of Leah, there isn't any woman in this film who shows up more than once. However, considering this is a film about college, much less with frats, it was a pleasant surprise that we weren't treated to an HBO styled movie which just had a parade of nameless naked girls one set of breast and ass cheeks one after another.CriticismIt Seems Like It Should Have Some Emotional Depth But Doesn'tThe synopsis on IMDb notes how Brad is reeling from a "terrifying assault." Yet, after the wounds heal, you don't get this sense of terror. Well, perhaps not the way you think he should react. Being abused by Dixon and crew doesn't trigger him, he just sucks it up. When he meets a bunch of frat brothers, who honestly look about the weight and size of those who beat the hell out of him, there is no suspicion. His way of dealing with things is in silence. A common way to handle things but being that there is so much you see that should, and could, affect him, it is like this assault become an afterthought to the story, only remembered because the pledge story needs to be paused for effect.But even when you set aside Brad and look at Brett or even Will, again it is like there should be something deeper here. Now, with Brett you do see guilt and some kind of emotion, but between Jonas or the writing, it doesn't take you to the point of truly feeling something. You recognize his emotions but they don't hit you in a way to make you too feel something.Which leads us to Will. He has no one, no brother, no friends, no girlfriend. His story, arguably, seems like the one which should not only hit hard but also be the primary focus. Yet, he is in the background. We see the abuse, him taking it for he wants all the fraternity can offer him, but with him not being the focus, but rather the bigger names of Nick Jonas and the person playing his brother, the one person who honestly could make you feel something is largely ignored.On The FenceYou Understand The MotiveStrength in numbers, opportunities to get laid, parties, protection, brotherhood, and not having to experience college, much less living on campus, alone… All of this leads you to understand why all of these pledges go through the abuse they do. Though I must admit, even with this film likely green lit because of its notoriety, and the mystique frats have, it would have been nice if there was a stronger presence of brotherhood, the charity frats do, and some positives. If only to balance things out a bit. They could have even mentioned other frats which do that and just make it seem Phi Sigma Mu was slipping.Overall: Mixed (Home Viewing)Admittedly, this was better than expected. Perhaps one of the most interesting movies I've watched in a few weeks. However, the pushed aside vulnerability, the sole focus being hell week and it seeming like this was more about the acts than the people and frat life in general, it what makes this rated as "Mixed."

I screened #GOAT starring #BenSchnetzer and #NickJonas and although the hazings in the film can get over the top, one can't help but wonder if hazings in real life frat out there can really get that violent, especially since the college I attended didn't have Greek houses so I never personally experienced pledges. But GOAT has its own way of rattling your comfort zone. The psychological pain the characters inflict on each other is more disturbing than last year's "The Stanford Prison Experiment." Directed by Andrew Neel, in GOAT, Ben Schnetzer's character, Brad Land earlier on in the story goes through an initial violence so traumatizing that it pretty much sets up his motivation throughout the entirety of this film. He joins his brother Brett's (Nick Jonas) fraternity and as the pledging ritual moves into hell week, the stakes grow more violent, more humiliating, and more torturous, all in the name of brotherhood, or is Brad trying to prove something else? Based on Brad Land's memoir, co-written by Andrew Neel, David Gordon Green and Mike Roberts, the film deals with the questions of which rites of passage are worth taking and which ones are not and where do you draw the line. There are plenty of hazings in this film, you really don't know what to expect because each of them is shocking in its own way, it becomes ingrained in Brad's psyche or his belief that this may be what is needed to be done for him to punish himself for the earlier event that victimized him. And to some of these brothers, this frat life has become all they know, this is all they have, they think it's the center of the universe so if you go against it, then consequences ensue. It's very intriguing to see Brad and this brotherhood collide and the effect they have on each other.GOAT is not a college comedy, it shows the darker, harsher side of what college life can offer. It's raw, unforgiving, and it punches you in the gut. You will feel uncomfortable watching GOAT and that is one of the film's main goals. I'd be very interested to see a featurette or behind-the-scenes videos showing how they shot some of the hazing scenes, just to see how the actors mentally prepped for them. I'd like to believe that GOAT doesn't necessarily intend on demonizing frat or Greek houses, I'm sure there are many brotherhoods out there that don't go over the line in their rituals but it does show that when we join a group, any group, it's best to analyze whether or not that group would be beneficial for our personal growth given our previous life experiences.-- Rama's Screen --